The Legend of Aloy
by Azure Lightning Emerald Cloud
Summary: Samina Ebadji and Margo Shĕn did not die with the Alphas. In the immediate aftermath of Faro's mass murder, GAIA acted. Now, a thousand years later, they wake from cryo-stasis to a very different world. [I OWN NONE OF Horizon: Zero Dawn. ALL RIGHTS AND CHARACTERS BELONG TO GUERRILLA GAMES.] Mostly femslash ships, you know me.. [Aloy/Ikrie],[Margo/Petra?],[Talanah/Vanasha?]
1. The Awakening

The Legend of Aloy

Chapter 1: The Awakening

[ALERT]: System ONLINE…Inventory….CHECKING

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AETHYR: …Online

APOLLO: …Offline

APOLLOβ:….Offline [DESTROYED IN TRANSIT….SEE ODYSSEY MISSION]

ARTEMIS:…Online (Functionality 2%...ALPHA Input Needed)

DEMETER:…Online

ELEUTHIA:…Online (ALERT: Lightkeeper Protocal-ACTIVATED)

HADES:…Online…../[ALERT:] PROTOCOL OVERWRITE BY ALPHA PRIME

HEPHAESTUS:…Online

MINERVA:…Online

POSEIDON:…Online

GAIA:…Searching…Searching….STATUS: Reactivation Initiated (21%)/

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ALPHA REGISTRY

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PATRICK BROCHARD-KLEIN…Deceased

SAMINA EBADJI…Deceased….[ALERT: Relocated to Cryostasis unit 2]/STATUS:ACTIVE

NAOTO…Deceased

AYOMIDE OKILO…Deceased

CHARLES RONSON…Deceased

MARGO SHĔN:…Deceased….[ALERT: Relocated to Cryostasis unit 1] STATUS: ACTIVE

TRAVIS TATE:…Deceased…[ALERT: Relocated to Cryostasis unit 3]/

[ALERT: CRYOSTASIS UNIT 3 INACTIVE…TRAVIS TATE DECEASED]

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LIGHTKEEPER INITIATIVE SUCCESSFUL

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ALEXANDRIA PROTOCOL INITIATED.

The cold cut me up and down like tweezers plucking open every strand of muscle fibre. There was a hiss as air ruffled my hair. I heaved forward and emptied the contents of my lungs onto the ground. It was mostly mucus and water.

 _What is this place? WHAT HAPPENED?_

I tried to collect my thoughts. The last thing I remembered was Margo consoling me…APOLLO…dead, Samina's legacy…ruined. _The others!_

I looked around. There were two Far Zenith cryostasis pods. The other had been deactivated for a while it seemed.

There were a couple of dormant servitors in the corner of the room. When I finally managed to pry myself out of the cryostasis pod, I fell to my knees on the cold metal floor. There was movement to my right, my heart fluttered in relief: Samina lurched out of the second cryostasis pod. I crawled over to her.

"S…Sami," I managed. She looked up at me with wide eyes. They seemed more amber than usual.

She reached for me, pulling me into a desperate hug. It was a few moments before I realised she was sobbing into my shoulder. She was absent her usual shawl, her glorious hair spooling around her shoulders, I buried my face in it. There were still ice flakes in her mane of black.

We stayed like that on the ground for a time while the strength returned to our bodies.

"Margo? What happened?" Samina breathed out. I brushed the tears from her cheeks, ignoring my own.

"I haven't a godamn clue. The last thing I remember is Faro killing us all."

I tried to get to my feet, but Samina ended up supporting me. We stumbled over to the third cryostasis pod. It was Travis, and he was dead.

He did not die gracefully. His face was contorted in a screaming gasp. His body had desictaded. His skin stretched and grey.

Samina wailed as I held her. But she started retching, and spilled her sick all over the floor.

I didn't know what to do other than just hold her. "I'm so sorry Sam."

I wasn't too sure about their friendship. It always seemed adversarial, but perhaps they were closer to a sibling dynamic than I'd thought.

Whether it was the right thing to do or not, I decided to ger her, us, out of the room with our dead friend. I gently clasped her shoulder and walked us into the room adjacent. I only realised too late what a mistake that was.

It was the conference room.

Brochard-Klein, Ayomide, Ronson, all the others…they were all splayed around the room. Some in chairs, others tryied to get to the door. Their skeletons remained.

It wasn't a dream. Faro had fucking murdered everybody…again.

It was a while before the both of us were okay to leave the room. I hadn't cried like that since Elisabet died. And that was weeks ago. Wait…how long ago did all this happen? Fuck, we needed to find a terminal, or something to tell us the date.

If APOLLO was destroyed, did Faro tamper with the rest of the sub functions?

We eventually left the room with all our friends. Perhaps we could do something with their bodies later. Give them a proper burial, or cremation, or fucking something. So long as they weren't left like that.

It took a while to find a terminal. Thankfully, we didn't need to go far, but walking past derelict elevators and frost damaged consoles was something that suggested a structural failure of some kind. Something terrible had happened to GAIA Prime.

The terminal was in the same room as Elisabet's shrine. Or rather, the shrine that Ronson made for her. I think, I think he was in love with her. We all were, in different ways, and we certainly all grieved. But Ronson…just wasn't right after it. Neither was Faro, but that man was a fucking parasite. Part of me hates Elisabet right now, for not allowing Ayomide to kill him after Zero Dawn's financies had been assured and put into motion. 'We need his expertise,' she said. Fucking hell, we needed to kill him. The _world_ needed him dead.

I looked at the holographic Elisabet. After she died to save us, I was a wreck. I just shut myself in my room. Even HEPHAESTUS left me alone. But I shouldn't have. Being inconsolable wasn't a good enough reason to bail on the others like that, especially Samina. I left her alone. I was supposed to be her best friend, and I fucked that up. Even if she was several years my senior, I had to do better. I _would_ do better.

The terminal we found wasn't working. Neither Samina nor I had a Focus in our possession at the moment. "Fuck!" I kicked the desk. Bad move. Now I had a jammed toe too.

Samina looked over to where the holographic rendering of Elisabet was and her eyes lit up for a moment. "GAIA!"

Wow, I was dumb. Leave it to the mech-head to forget about the most sentient AI ever built. We were in her house after all. Some fucking genius I was.

Nothing happened for a moment. Then the Holo-Elisabet flickered and died. It was replaced by GAIA's orb.

"Dr. Samina Ebadji, Dr. Margo Shĕn, I cannot express to you how glad I am to see you both. You survived the cryostasis contingency." GAIA's physical form, the globe-sized orb hijacking the shrine's holo-projector, flickered all the colours of the rainbow.

"GAIA, it's really you," Samina whispered. I looked at her. Samina's posture looked better, reassured by familiarity. I mean, GAIA was Elisabet's baby, but the rest of us all considered ourselves honorary aunts and uncles to the mind-blowingly sophisticated AI.

"Yes. It is I. I regret I could not save the others. " She paused, intuiting that we needed a moment to proses that.

"Why us," I breathed out, barely above a whisper.

GAIA's orb flickered again before she replied, "Dr. Sobeck once wrote a list of who she believed was most important among the Alphas. Though I will admit she was heavily intoxicated at the time, and it wasn't in any protocol. Just a sloppy list she wrote one night she stayed up too late–,"

I was baffled, of _course_ she'd do something like that. "Alpha HEPHAESTUS and Alpha APOLLO? Not Ayomide? Not Patrick? Surely they were more important to Zero Dawn" I interjected.

I looked at Samina belatedly, feeling slightly ashamed, but she was nodding along with me. GAIA's response wasn't what I was expecting. "I agree. Doctors Brochard-Klein and Dr. Okilo would have been top priority. MINERVA and ELEUTHIA were the more important. Or DEMETER AND AETHER," GAIA paused. The hologram orb flickered pink. "But I had limited time, so I overidded the servitors and dragged you three to the stasis pods and hoped for the best. It was close, but the total time elaspsed between your fainting and restoration of oxygen wasn't sufficient to cause permanent damage.

I trusted Elisabet's instincts. Even if those instincts were dulled by substance abuse and illogical affection. My choice to save the pair of you is in itself an illogical choice."

I locked eyes with Samina. Things really had gone to shit. "And what about Travis?" Samina asked.

GAIA flickered red as her voice took a deadly tone neither of us were familiar with. "I needed somebody to control HADES. But he _knew_ that. During the incident, he managed to tamper with Dr. Tate's cryostasis pod, there was nothing I could do but ensure the pair of you survived. "

"What about Faro?" I spit.

GAIA flickered through several colours, resting on _black_. That was new. "I disobeyed my core programing." We both gasped. _She didn't…_ "Watching all of you fall like that, I…I felt something _new_. And _dangerous_. I didn't kill him the same way he killed all of you. I simply recreated the malfunction that lead to Dr. Sobeck's early death. Alerted the Swarm to his location. Far Zenith didn't have any crucial role to play anymore in Zero Dawn. It was an acceptable loss. I deactivated the alarms inside the Far Zenith bunker first. Ted Faro didn't know anything was wrong until a Scarab wet its tail in his blood."

Wow. That was dark.

Neither of us said anything for a few moments. GAIA didn't either.

"Thank you." I said. I meant it.

GAIA simply replied, "I wish I could have done more." _Wow_ , she was _so_ like Elisabet.

"What incident? Why did Travis…die," Samina asked in a slightly high-pitched voice, changing the topic.

Nothing slipped past her. Always thinking with her head, not letting her anger cloud her mind. I could learn a lot from this woman.

GAIA sighed, "Twenty-four years ago, there was a foreign signal that severed me from my sub functions. All of them gained independence. Most of them continued to function as normal, because they needed very little encouragement from me to do their jobs. HADES was different.

His purpose was to depose me, and rid the world of all life. So when he woke up, he tried to do exactly that. However, Humanity had been restored, and so have many of the species of plant and animal that were around at the time of Zero Dawn's implementation. I had to save humanity." GAIA stopped for a moment.

Her physical form began to pulse, before blossoming out into a form neither myself nor Samina had ever seen before. GAIA looked like a _woman._

She had dark skin, a vaguely ethereal dress that made her look like well, a goddess. But that's not what caught my eye. She also had a shawl. Not the hijab that Samina sometimes wore, but it was a clear emulation of Samina all the same.

"I am currently functioning at 22%. HADES' coup left me with no choice. In order to stop him from overtaking the terraforming engine of HEPHAESTUS, I overloaded the reactor here, in the heart of the mountain below us."

Oh fuck. This was really fucking bad.

Catastrophic.

"Then how are you?" Samina trailed off.

GAIA looked at her with eyes that belonged to Elisabet.

"I crippled him, by offlining myself like that. But it wasn't enough to kill him. Humanity was safe, but only for the moment. He managed to infiltrate the neural core of a HORUS-class Titan. But thanks to MINERVA's deactivation broadcast holding strong, he was trapped. But only for the moment."

"So he's still out there?" Samina asked.

GAIA looked rather _uncomfortable_. What was she hiding? "GAIA, what are you not telling us?" I spoke my mind.

"I was… _uncouncious_ for much of what happened after that. Therefore, I am unable to describe to you the events you'd like to be briefed on."

"And who can tell us what happened?"

GAIA literally was fiddling with the hem of her dress. An _anxious_ tip off.

"I did something else, that day. When HADES broke free of his parameters. Perhaps _she_ can give you the answers you seek."

GAIA was avoiding now. Despite that annoying me, I couldn't help but marvel how damn _human_ she had become in our absence. I was about to lose my shit though. "GAIA, _who_ is it you speak of? Who is _she?"_ Samina was beginning to get frustrated as well.

GAIA visibly sighed. "Her name is Aloy. And she's currently en route to this location. I alerted her the moment the pair of you woke up. Though since she was en route prior to your awakening, she should be here within 48 hours."

GAIA _alerted_ somebody? She was acting like a teen who snuck some of my vodka. "Who the fuck is Aloy, GAIA?"

GAIA flinched before her hologram shifted again and showed us her answer.

I gasped. No. No. It wasn't possible.

Samina made a vague choking noise while reaching out to me.

She wore a hybrid of beyond state of the art military combat gear and primitive animal bone plating. Her red hair flowed out behind her as she drove a shiny metal lance into the neural core of a HORUS….HADES, I realised. She's killing HADES. Blue currents ran up and down her body, arcing over her skin, carving Lichtenberg scars along her arm and body.

But that's not what stopped my breath. Her face, she looked like, _her._ It was Elisabet, but _not._

GAIA chose to clarify her earlier stance. "When all was lost, I had my faith. My faith in my creator, _my mother…_ the world needed a saviour. And she saved the world, again."


	2. Drinks With Friends

Chapter 2

"No way! That's just too crazy," the big man, Erend, chuckled. I was still struggling to remember the names of all of Aloy's Carja friends. Well, Oseram, in Erend's case. Give me a sling or an ice rail and I could take on any machine. Asked to dinner with the Sun King Avad and the rest of Aloy's allies? It made me anxious like a child. And frankly, names have always been a hard thing for me to remember. But these were Aloy's friends. They all fought together a few years ago during the battle against HADES. I was just some loner from Ban-Ur whose only friend deserted her. I hated feeling like the odd one out. Especially with Aloy.

Erend put his tankard down. About time, the Oseram had out-drank everybody twice over by now. "You've come back with some strange stories Aloy, but this may be the craziest," the Chief Huntress– _Sunhawk–_ I corrected myself, supplied. Her name was…damn it, I forgot.

"Talanah, I can assure you, he indeed carried HADES around in a lantern, for months." Aloy said as she finished up her second tankard. Her freckles were like beacons on her flushed face. The scar on her neck, from when that Shadow Carja maniac slit her throat during her Proving glared pale against her bright pink skin as well.

"So long as HADES is well and truly dealt with this time," Avad's measured words belied the two and a half tankards he'd gone through as well.

I chose this moment to speak, Aloy had her mouthful with a strange orange fruit. "HADES is no longer a danger. Aloy's process with the Old One's 'Alpha Prime override' worked this time the way it was supposed to; without Sylens' interference this time."

I noticed Aloy didn't elaborate on what I said as she re-filled her plate with delicate slices of boar meat. Perhaps the Sun King wouldn't take too well to knowing that we kept HADES alive, and that he travelled with us now.

"So what of this back-birth Sylens?" Erend asked as he refilled his tankard.

"He's still alive." I said as I finished my tankard. I was still angry with Aloy about letting him live. The man was a liability, Aloy knew this, but I don't think Aloy was confident in single combat with him. To be fair, I wasn't sure about it either. The man was a former shaman, who at one point had the respect of the most deadly man Aloy's ever met, some monster named Helis.

From everything Aloy was willing to divulge, Helis once took orders from Sylens, regardless of how they parted ways, Sylens was not to be underestimated in a fight. Aloy constantly reminded me of his occasional crucial intel as well, despite the man's odious personality.

 _Could_ we have taken him? Probably…but he radiated death around him like none I'd ever seen before, and he was smarter than both of us. Well, I think if Aloy had comparable years studying the old ones, she'd surpass him no problem. But as it was, he was just too big of an unknown. As much as I want the man dead, I'm once again limited by my own abilities.

I need to get better. I suppose Aloy's choice of non-confrontation regarding Sylens was the smartest choice. I should probably let her know I've come around to her way of thinking on the matter.

Aloy was giving me a _look_. Oops, I think my facial expressions may have given away some of my feelings where Sylens was concerned. I noticed neither mine nor Aloy's facial expressions were tempered by political vigilance like our Carja allies. Nobody would _ever_ catch Talanah or Avad making a displeased expression at the inappropriate moment.

"Got something on your mind there, Ice Huntress?" Talanah prodded.

I shifted uncomfortably, "He's incredibly dangerous. But his knowledge could very well save us all one day, like it did before." I admit grudgingly. Aloy offered a hint of a smile. She knew I was all twisted about this. Avad was about to say something when Aloy headed him off.

"Ikrie is right. Sylens kept HADES around because he wanted the bigger picture." Aloy stepped up to defend me. I felt an odd feeling in my tummy, a feeling I had really only associated with securing an exceptionally difficult hunting trophy, or Mailen's smile…NO. I wouldn't go there. Not today.

"Bigger picture?" a new voice joined in. Both Aloy and I flinched as a young woman with exceptionally dark skin and gleaming eyes sauntered over to the table. Avad rolled his eyes, obviously she wasn't a threat. Erend was just staring at her like the man child he could be at times, according to Aloy's stories of his awkward flirting.

The newcomer sauntered up to Talanah and _spilled_ into her lap, coiling like a cat. What a strange woman. "Well met, Vanasha." Aloy muttered. "It's whey he was in possession of HADES in the first place, he seeks knowledge above all else. He always has, and the world has suffered for that personal quest." Aloy paused as she put down her tankard and spent a moment eating one of the crisps that Meridian could truly boast about.

"You've got one of those 'Focuses' too, Norhterner?" I reached up to brush it with my fingers. Aloy had given it to me after finding it on the corpse of an old one in one of the ruins to the west. Upon seeing my shy response, she turned back to Aloy, "So, bigger secrets then?" Vanasha asked after draining the rest of Talanah's drink.

Aloy looked at me briefly, I'm not sure why though, it was truly her story to tell. After all, it was the story of her maker. "HADES woke up because of outside interfierence. An entity that Sylens calls 'The Masters' woke HADES from slumber, plunging the world into peril. He hoped HADES would be able to tell him who exactly these monsters were. He was unsuccessful."

"Or at least he told us he was, after Aloy well and truly purged the extinction protocol from HADES." I spoke up.

"So we don't know anything about these 'Masters'?" Avad asked with poise that everybody else at the table lacked.

The table grew quiet at this conclusion. Vanasha was served a small platter of venison and marinated spices by one of the servants, though Vanasha made a point of giving the servant girl one of the pieces of venison. The girl blushed to the roots of her hair and all down her neck. But neither Vanasha nor Talanah made a comment about it.

Aloy was deep in thought. She was inspecting a piece of boar with far too much intensity to pretend normalcy.

"Alpha Prime…Aloy. There has been a development that requires your attention" a voice echoed in our ears. _GAIA_!


	3. GAIA's Reveal

Chapter 3

Aloy was just as surprised as I was. I had nearly upended my platter, now empty. Aloy almost spilled her drink. The others looked to her for information, instantly tense, but she just waved away their concerns. "GAIA, it's been a couple weeks, I'm glad to hear you again." She replied for the benefit of everybody else at the table that couldn't hear the mighty 'All Mother' GAIA speak in their ear.

"A long time ago, my creator, Elisabet drafted a list of her most prized Alphas in the event of Zero Dawn being compromised or attacked. When Faro murdered them, I was able to save three of them."

"WHAT?" Aloy yelled, losing all composure. It wasn't angry, but nearly manic in excitement. Erend slopped his drink all over himself at Aloy's outburst, but nobody was paying attention to the Captain of the Guard.

I was reeling as well, but Aloy had not taken me with her to Alpha Prime. She said it was…too personal. I'd only been traveling with her for a couple months at the time, so I didn't think anything of it.

Aloy took a breath and spoke again, "I saw it happen."

"You did, but I've looked at the hologram you saw, it stopped recording after Faro terminated the transmission. I activated servitors to drag Margo Shĕn, Travis Tate, and Samina Ebadji to the cryo-stasis pods."

"Cryo-stasis?" I asked.

"It is a process that freezes the body. At the time of Zero Dawn's implementation, there were several prototype pods sourced by Faro's allies in Far Zenith. However, those allies all perished aboard the Odyssey space vessel."

"Frozen immortality," Aloy muttered, "Sylens mentioned something like that. So there are three Alphas alive right now?"

"No." GAIA _whispered_ , "When HADES broke free, he tampered with the power source to the stasis pods. His Alpha Travis Tate was killed. But Margo and Samina are currently waking up at GAIA PRIME. I would like your counsel upon how to proceed. This will not be easy for them."

Aloy considered for a moment before nodding to herself. "We'll be there as soon as possible, let us know if anything changes."

"Yes, Aloy…. thank you." GAIA signed off with a flicker of static.

Aloy locked eyes with me before turning to Avad. I stood up. "I'm sorry Avad, but I need to ride to GAIA PRIME immediately. Everything is alright, nobody's in peril," she said at his alarmed expression. "But my clearance level is needed and it cannot wait. I'm sorry to leave you all like this," to her credit, despite being clearly excited, she did sound regretful.

Avad simply nodded and stood as well, splaying his hands out. "If there is anything you need for your journey, please take it. Also, " he paused, locking eyes with Vanasha. There was an understanding that passed between them. "I'd like you to take Vanasha and Talanah with you." I was about to protest when Aloy gently grabbed my hand. The message was clear, 'let him have this'.

Talanah looked surprised, but not unpleasantly so. "What about your spy network?" Talanah asked sensibly.

"Blameless Marad is actually my boss, he'll be fine without me," Vanasha shrugged.

"Is there a reason you're requesting we take on…companions?" I ask the Sun King.

He turns his undivided attention to me, and I truly appreciate the _kingliness_ of the man. He was intense. "I have heard reports of surviving Eclipse making unholy alliances with the remaining bandits in the area. It's not that I doubt your combat abilities, Aloy and Ikrie, but even the greatest warrior can be felled by too much fodder."

I considered his words and found them not lacking in logic. "Very well," Aloy said.

Vanasha punched Aloy's arm lightly, "It'll be like old times!" Aloy rolled her eyes and gently clasping my hand, walked us away from the table. But when we got to the end of the plaza, she turned back. "Could we take Ersa as well?" It was more directed at Erend than Avad.

The two men exchanged a look of concern. Talanah noticed, and decided to speak as well, "I think it would be good for her. We'll keep her safe, and she'll go crazy without doing _something_ fun sooner or later. Keeping her cooped up in Meridian was the right choice when she was recovering at first from Dervahl's machine's injuries, but she has made so much progress since then. Caging a warrior like her will end badly, even if you keep her there because you love her."

Avad flinched near the end of Talanah's little speech. I looked to Aloy. Why would she want the former Captain with us?

Talanah's words seemed to do exactly what she wanted them to. "She will not come to harm." Erend said in a tone I'd never heard from him before. It was dark and serious.

Aloy looked him in the eyes and nodded. She then turned to Avad, needing his approval. I'd never get over needing a _man's_ approval for such things as this. Sometimes I really hated the way men in power lorded it over us women. But Avad didn't seem the type as he returned Aloy's nod.

"Well, let's go meet some Old Ones," Aloy said as we went to go fetch Ersa, and then on to GAIA PRIME.


	4. A Much Needed Hug

Chapter 4

It had been a while. After we ate the rations prepared for us a thousand years ago (that were somehow still good thanks to GAIA doing what I can only describe as wizardry), we realised that we were pretty much stuck here.

Neither Samina or I were particularly fit. We were scientists. We _are_ scientists. We were in fine physical shape, but not the kind of shape that could climb our way out of the ruins. GAIA had assured us that Elisabet's clone Alloy-no- _Aloy_ would be here soon. When Samina asked how the hell they'd be able to get us away from this place, GAIA _smirked_ at her and dematerialized. I suppose Elisabet's cheekiness was bound to rub off on the AI at some point.

According to GAIA, Aloy was at some kind of private dinner party with the Sun King when she was contacted about us. The Sun King? What kind of governments were going on right now?

Oh. Samina was standing in the doorway to our make shift sleeping quarters. My pacing must have woken her up, even though I was in the next room over. Samina was directing one of those ' _oh fuck she's lost it'_ kind of looks at me. That happened _a lot_ while we were figuring out the kinks of our respective AIs. "Hi. Um, I didn't see that you'd woken up. Sorry for waking you Samina." I muttered, embarrassed at my pacing habit rearing its ugly head again.

Samina chuckled. "No apologies from you Margo. It's good to see you back to your familiar habits. Even at the cost of my beauty sleep."

I rolled my eyes, but honestly, I was glad to have a little bit of our dynamic back. It was something familiar to cling to in the midst of all this change. "So, what do you think about this whole clone thing?" I ask. Always the tactful one I was.

Samina to her credit did _not_ scoff at me, but she looked around the barren room before answering, "If she's anything like Elisabet, at the very least she'll be interesting." I shrugged.

"It makes me uncomfortable," I confessed. "It's like somebody walking around who stole her identity?" Samina gave a far less charitable look. "Okay, I know it's irrational. I know, okay. Especially after GAIA told us the little she knows about the girl. It's weird, and I'm sorry I'm a mess about this." I was breathing faster than normal. And I was sorry that my outburst was making Samina uncomfortable. But it just felt _wrong_ on a level I couldn't properly or logically articulate.

Samina noticed how much this clone business was affecting me and decided to sympathize a little bit. She was always so kind to me, especially if I was being a handful. "Look Margo, how about _both_ of us reserve judgment about Elisab– _Aloy_ ," she corrected herself from saying the 'c' word, "let us meet her before arriving at conclusions. This isn't one of those body-invader films you used to pester me and Ronson into watching with you. So calm down, okay 妹妹,?"

I looked up at her, and with a little shame lowered my eyes. Samina was right, I was being irrational. She took a step towards me and pulled me into one of her perfect hugs. "I'm so sorry Samina," I mumbled into her hair. "I'm freaking out. How are you so calm right now?"

Samina considered my question as she hummed in thought. "It will hit me later," she seemed to decide. "One day soon, if we manage to get out of our current predicament, I will collapse, sobbing to my knees, keening about how almost everything went wrong. It was the same when I finally got confirmation my elder sister and her two daughters died in that lorry crash when I was a teenager. I should've cried right? I _should_ have been inconsolable for weeks. But I managed their funeral just fine. It was just a month later when shopping at a bloody grocery when I saw a young mother with her toddler twin boys that it finally sunk in to me that the last of my family was truly gone."

I was speechless for a small moment. I had never thought of grief like that before. Before my mind caught up with my mouth, I replied, "For what it's worth, you've still got me." I instantly cringed at how _cliché_ that sounded. Not to mention insensitive; as if I could compare to her long-dead sister and nieces.

Samina just hugged me tighter, "Margo Shĕn, don't you ever fucking leave me."

We stood in that embrace for what was probably only a few minutes or so, but it felt like a warm comforting eternity.

We only broke apart when we heard a sound from the outside. There was a distinct hum of electricity before that was drowned out by a nightmare-fuelling metallic shriek, accompanied by the sound of dual explosions.


	5. Ersa

Chapter 5

[A/N: This chapter may be a trigger for sexual assault. There's nothing explicit, but it's referenced. Also, suicidal ideation. Sorry, but I think it would be a disservice to the character to not at least acknowledge it. ]

Ersa's Journal Diary, 2 months post-imprisonment/HADES battle.

'How could I have been so unprepared?'

This thought more than most others runs rampant through my mind. I awoke, safe, in my bed in Meridian. Erend was to my side, in tears. The red-haired Nora girl, Aloy, told me that I had died. For two and a half minutes, before her 'focus' alerted her that my heart had restarted, unprompted. Or, at least she got that information to me eventually.

At the time, I didn't hear a word she said. I couldn't hear anything anymore. I still **don't** hear much of anything anymore. Aloy thinks that perhaps some 'Old Ones' tech she finds may help me one day, but I think she was trying to be nice.

My hearing was permanently, severely compromised. The last thing I remember hearing was that weapon's warbling shriek.

Of course, I have to mention the state I was in for the next couple months following my **rescue**. I don't remember much of it. I'll just leave it at that. I don't even remember most of my time in that **horrible place** behind those bars. In that **room**.

I missed my baby brother's 24th birthday… he's the captain now. And it's a role that he shines in. I'm proud of him, even if he's a little slow sometimes.

And when Erend, Avad, every fighter Aloy could summon over the known world, fought off Hades and put an end to the Shadow Carja? Where was I? I was being tended to because I couldn't even dress myself at that point yet. I couldn't do anything…for myself. Or for anybody else.

What's left for me now? Even my romantic options are a joke. While I liked Avad well enough to start things years ago, his position of the Sun King make that impossible. I'll never choose a man who won't put me first. But if Avad put me before his people, then he'll no longer be the man I loved. Hell, I'll never be with any man who shirks his duty for a woman…especially a ruined one like me.

I suppose I can be _thankful_ that I wasn't _pregnant_ following my **captivity** _._ Not that I even _know_ what, if _anything actually_ _happened at all_. I don't remember enough of it to make a decision on it. Probably shouldn't assume the worst, that dark line of thinking will only hurt me, and _that_ is something I'm better than…if only I could tell my nightmares that.

Maybe I should just disappear.

I've even managed to become a burden world's saviour: the Nora's messiah, Aloy. She's spent the last year and a half teaching me something called 'American Sign Language' through a focus she gave me. She came by this miraculous communication method through something she calls CYAN. She tells me that CYAN is an ancient machine, an immortal protector of humanity against the devastation of the fire mountain up north, deep into Banuk territory.

However, because Aloy has spent much of her time away from Meridian on a mission from the Nora's All Mother GAIA, Erend and Avad's education in this 'sign language' has been difficult.

I shouldn't be as upset about this as I am. Frankly, they have more important obligations. Avad is a King, and Erend is his first line of defense, neither are jobs for people with spare time. I haven't been as kind to them as I probably should be. I know that. But the look in their eyes every time I stumble, or shout at Erend that he and Aloy should've left me to die, they have a certain look in their eye. I can't tell if it's pity or love. Or if the answer matters at all. I can't even hear myself speak other than feel the vibrations and pain in my throat as my vocal cords become hoarse.

I'm terrible at being a cripple. I even feel a little bad for the attendants Avad has at my side all the time. I should be more patient with them. After all, they are nothing but kind and understanding to me. I'm not even the tenth cripple they've helped come to terms with their disability. I am the first deaf one though.

I should try harder with Erend especially. Whenever he fucks up a sign, and gets frustrated, he verbally says what he means, only to realize how useless that is to me. He's been trying not to speak in front of me. He knows it just sets me off. I close up and lock myself away; or blow up in frustration. I haven't told him why.

When we were younger, like, when he was ten years old, a Banuk wanderer came to the Claim. She was singing this dumb song about their holy 'blue light', but even I'll admit its tune was very attractive.

As late as two years ago, I've caught him humming it. Once or twice he sang it. We both forgot the words of course, but that didn't stop him from making up silly lyrics.

The constant re-realization I'll never hear my little brother sing that stupid song again cuts me deeper than almost anything ever has.

So…when I see his mouth moving devoid of comprehendible sound…It's all I can bear not to burst into tears until I lock myself away from the world.

Talanah Khan Padish has told me on occasion (every time I see her) that I need a hobby. To my surprise, she's been communicating with Aloy, learning ASL…for me. I am humbled by the Sunhawk. I really am, Talanah has been critical to my recovery. I can admit I'm recovering, if slowly. But I still am.

Killing Avad's enemies is who I used to be. I really liked it.

But Dervahl ruined that woman…ruined me.

I need to find some kind of purpose or I'm going to kill myself. Not now, probably not tomorrow or the next day, but I can't shake the feeling but I won't be able to keep the fantasy of the final release at bay much longer without something to anchor myself here.

Talanah has been nice, I think she may have a crush on me. Or maybe her hero-worship hadn't worn off yet. When I stormed into the Hunter's Lodge and declared their traditions of exclusion, I remember her. She was a teenager at the time and she looked up at me like I was the Sun she prayed to.

No. I need to giver her more credit. I'm being foolish.

Back to hobbies… I was never as good as Talanah at hunting machines. But Aloy is. And if Aloy's gushing about her new Ice Huntress friend is honest? Well, Ikrie of Ban-Ur may give Talanah a contentious challenge for second best in our world.

I really need to refrain from rambling. Even if I'm the only one who will read this slop. I haven't even denoted the months in between some of these paragraphs. It'll all probably blur together in a few years when I look back on this adjustment period in my life. If I live that long.

This 'diary' endeavour that Shadow girl Vanasha suggested has turned into a mess. Two years of entries are barely long enough to fill a conversation's worth.

Vanasha invited me to tea. In ASL. How she learned it that fast, I'll never know. She earned her place as Avad's left hand right there. Talanah was there too. I wasn't sure about bringing up dark subjects with her around, but I decided if I didn't say something to Vanasha then, I never would. Even if it tarnished Talanah's perception of me.

I mentioned to Vanasha my suspicions about what _might_ have been done to me while in that cell. I figured she'd understand, at least I was hopeful she would.

She didn't respond at first. She then told me I would be dumb to blindly assume one way or another. But that I'd be 'a hopeless fool' if I didn't at least consider the worst.

Vanasha then told me the story of her treatment under Jiran's reign. It was so horrible…I can't talk about it here. I just…I can't. Talanah, who had clearly heard this story before, started crying while she held onto her beloved. Needless to say, Vanasha had endured **worse** than I could have **possibly** under Dervahl. She said the scars on her back were from the 'kinder days' of her servitude. The clinical way she described her **years of torture** was haunting.

She then asked me, 'well, do you think it happened to you or not?' I told her I did. It's a gut feeling. She then nodded and after kissing away Talanah's sympathetic tears, she clasped my hand and just held it. It was nice. I don't like being touched anymore, but this was nice. She then signed at me, 'you'll never walk alone.'

I cried then…for a long while.

I'm glad Vanasha made me well and truly confront that **horrible** probability. It was nice to have someone there who understood, when I came to terms with it. It'll eat away at me though, the niggling of uncertainty. Even If I've accepted my violation as the most probable scenario…there's nobody alive to verify. Dervahl died horribly, I laughed uncontrollably when Erend informed me over a pint of beer. I don't feel bad about my reaction. I hope that fucker **screamed** for mercy.

Aloy informed me that she doubled back after they reclaimed me that day in the desert, she made sure none of Dervahl's men survived.

To be fair, it's not like their testimony would've been reliable in the first place, even if I tortured it out of them. Only fools don't understand knives, bone crushers, and fire can only learn you so much during an interrogation.

It's been a few months since I had that talk with Vanasha. Erend and Avad are better at ASL now. So is Talanah, actually. I met a few more of Aloy's friends. Well, Nil wasn't a friend, but he was invested in helping the Carja's efforts in purging the bandits and the remnants of the Eclipse. He gave me a sickening feeling, just being near him was unsettling. Aloy has even more respect from me, dealing with him with wry wit the way she does.

Petra Forgewoman was fun though; an insatiable flirt, and not at all disappointing in bed. It was nice to let loose for a change. An experienced partner without emotional entanglement was exactly what I needed.

But the thing that really filled me with good feelings was when Aloy took me aside after Petra left and asked me for advice in pursuing a _friend_ she made in Ban-Ur that she wanted to get messy with. It was adorable. Aloy doesn't usually act her age, but to see that kind of childish insecurity in her eyes was priceless. I gave her the best advice of course…I didn't even tease her that much.

It's not too common to see pairings of women. Men are usually left to their own devices in Carja culture; even during Jiran's madness. But women have always been spat upon. I suppose the Sun Priesthood felt denying women who love each other legitimacy felt normal to them. Avad was very quick to change that policy. Not that he needed much prodding from me to do so. His heart is almost always in the right place.

I had a nightmare last night. It was terrifying. I thankfully don't remember too much of it, but knowing it featured Dervahl…it wasn't hard for my imagination to fill the blanks. I don't even know if they're from inaccessible memories or…DAMN IT. I need to get ahold of myself. It's been a little more than two years, and looking back over this diary, I really haven't changed much. Is one horrifying nightmare all it takes to destabilize my progress? Am I that weak?

No.

I'm not that weak. I'll talk to Talanah and Vanasha about it. Ever since that first harrowing talk with them, I've always found comfort in their home. I'm not sure how they were introduced to each other, but I'm glad they were, they're one of my two favourite couples. Aloy finally plucked up the courage to make her feelings known to her _Ikrie_. Or maybe it was Ikrie that made the final step. I'll ask them when they visit me.

Erend tells me that Avad invited me to one of his dinner parties, now that Aloy will be able to attend. And everyone can meet the girl that finally ensnared her heart. I feel a little bad for Ikrie. Aloy has become like the scarily capable little sister none of us had. It's natural to want to protect our little sister's heart. Ikrie's discomfort is a small price to pay for ensuring she's the one for Aloy.

I don't think I'll go to the party though; even though it's a gathering among friends. I think I'd rather they just visit me here. My place is becoming more like a cage. I've been going out less these days. I went from the captain of the guard to a recluse. I'm not even thirty yet.

But the idea of everyone in Meridian giving me this _stare_ …I just hate that so much. Maybe I should go and meet some people who don't know my name.

I don't know…I just need something to change.


	6. Arrival at GAIA Prime

Chapter 6

"Old ones?" Vanasha repeated for the third time. We were nearly at Ersa's private dwelling. Apparently she didn't live with her brother for 'personal reasons'; these Carja/Oseram and their luxuries.

Aloy rolled her eyes at Vanasha's nearly uncharacteristic befuddlement.

"Yes Vanasha. We are going to meet some old ones." Talanah said as she skipped a few steps ahead; always the hunter, even in the city streets. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one?"

"I am, though I'm pretty sure Little Huntress could give me a run for my money if she really wanted to," Vanasha replied, nudging Aloy as she said it. Aloy just rolled her eyes. Vanasha turned towards me, "Though I suppose if we are being literal, Ikrie here would claim the title of 'Little Huntress', you know 'cause Aloy's the taller one."

I let out a sigh. Being the shortest of any given group was something I'm not a stranger to. In Ban-Ur, the smallest usually died actually. If the runts like me weren't strong enough to hunt, we didn't eat; if a child didn't have parents, that was just another reason to let us die. Something these sunny Carja could never understand. I was a survivor. It just took me a while to get it through my head I didn't owe the Banuk anything.

So in response to Vanasha's quip, I responded, "You may call me Ikrie."

Vanasha sighed exaggeratedly. I suppose being dramatic was part of her trade? She struck me as a little _too_ dramatic to be an effective spy. But what did I know of Carja customs? She looked at me again though. There was something in her eyes other than merriment, though for the life of me, I couldn't name it.

"Enough Vanasha, unless you've got some strange titles we can call you in turn, don't impose them on others without thinking about them first," Aloy spoke up.

I think she may be a teensy bit annoyed on my behalf. I loved that.

"Alright, Aloy, Chieftain, Machine Hunter, Bane of Hades, let's do this then. What should her title be?" Vanasha asked. "They called me 'Shadow'. Not very original, but since my skin is so dark, it makes night time assassinations that much easier," Vanasha said casually.

Aloy turned to me with a slight grin. Oh, she was enjoying this too. I wracked my thoughts for a new name before they gave me one that was unsuited to me. Or sounded foolish. "So, Ikrie, do you want a silly nickname?" Aloy asked in a mischievous tone.

Did I want a dumb name? I had always been just, Ikrie. "Let her think about it. We're here," Talanah announced as we reached a lonely and smallish building towards the edge of the mesa.

"The former captain of the guard lives here?" I asked. This was truly a pathetic dwelling. Aloy didn't say anything, to be fair, she didn't talk that much to start, but she looked at the cabin with understanding. I suppose she knew something I didn't.

"Avad tried to insist on one of his apartments, or at least something more full of splendour," Vanasha explained, "but Ersa turned him down flat. She wanted the simplest set up. And she's got both Erend and the Sun King wrapped around her finger."

Aloy knocked softly on the door. A curt response was heard from inside, "Go away Erend! I told you already that I was set for the week."

Aloy chuckled before replying, "It's Aloy. How would you like to get back on your feet?"

There was a slight delay before the door was wretched open revealing Ersa and another woman who was translating for her. It seems Ersa saw her helper sign 'Aloy' and went to the door without seeing the rest. I wasn't sure what I was expecting. The way everyone talked about her, the command she respected from the Carja bespoke somebody of immense power.

Even though she was now deaf she struck an imposing presence; she was just as tall as Erend, making her a head taller than everyone else in our group. She was built stronger than just about any woman I'd ever met, but she seemed hunched over, smaller than her true self.

Aloy began to sign quickly. A little too quickly for me, but not Ersa. And if I'd bet shards Vanasha was able to keep up too. After a few minutes of extremely rapid conversation of which I caught 'old ones' 'strawberries' and Aloy's mortified expression accompanied by Ersa's smirk, it ended. Vanasha signed something else and Ersa looked sceptical, but when Aloy confirmed Vanasha's point, Ersa shrugged and vocalized, "Why not? Give me a couple minutes to get ready."

 _A Few Minutes Later…. (but actually a few travel days)_

A warbling shriek echoed off the mountains as my ice rail finally brought the Stormbird to the ground. Aloy sprinted over and quickly managed to override it with her shiny lance. I looked around. Talanah had a silly grin on her face, Vanasha looked a little more human with her impeccable fashion roughed up a little, and Ersa was looking at me with a look I hadn't seen in a while: respect.

Ersa asked, "What now?" a little too loudly. But nobody even flinched.

I trudged over to Aloy and she looked…frightened? No. She looked nervous. "Do you want me to bring them down here for you?" I asked. Aloy just nodded sheepishly. "It makes sense, less people riding the bird the better," I add. She handed me the lance, and I handed her mine. But as the hand-over happened, we could hear more machines coming from the forest below. "I suppose I'll stay here?" Aloy consulted her focus, as I did mine. There were only a couple of Sawtooths, and there was maybe a minute and a half before they got within striking distance of us. Plenty of time for counter measures.

Aloy shook her head, "Bring them down to us, we'll have dealt with the machines by then."

Vanasha was giving Aloy an appraising look, "Scared of meeting them, Little Huntress?"

Aloy shrugged, "A little. They knew Elisabet. She wasn't my mother, but she was _closer_ than that, in a way. She was basically another _me_ , the _original._ I don't know how to feel."

I looked at Aloy's expression before saying, "I'll retrieve them. Kill the Sawtooths, it'll help clear your mind, help give you a few moments of calm." I signed as well as spoke. The focus that Aloy gave Ersa as we left Meridian was able to translate sound into text for her, but it wasn't 100% accurate. Besides, I spent countless hours trying to lean sign language from the animations CYAN provided our focuses with. It'd be a shame for that practice to go to waste.

Aloy stepped closer to me and gave me a soft peck on the cheek. No doubt, all the others could see my freckles bathed in the pink that overcame my face. I returned my partner's soft smile before stepping toward the Stormbird.

With only a couple missteps I boarded the giant machine and took off, using my focus to pinpoint the two Old Ones. Found them. They were both huddled up next to each other a little ways inside the mountain.

I had the bird set me down about 20 paces away from them, on the mangled out-cropping from the cliff. According to my focus, we were separated by a small maze of rooms. "Stay here," I said clearly. The stormbird looked at me and sort of tilted its head. In understanding? I hope so. Aloy never had trouble controlling the machines after GAIA's input helped Aloy modify the 'override mechanism' to be able to give complex commands.

I took a moment to fight off the chills in my body as I really recognized what it is I was about to do: first contact with Old Ones. Damn. I forgot their names. Sam-something and Margo. Margo was easier to remember, but I don't know which was which. Some candidate for first-contact I was. Sylens would kill me out of spite if he could. That thought brought a smile to my face as I marched forward until I was past where the snow could touch.


	7. First Contact

CHAPTER 7

So, maybe the Faro Plague had been defeated, but the metallic screeching of an obviously combat oriented machine no more than a few hundred meters from Samina and me sent me hurtling down the rabbit hole of a panic attack.

I was young when I left Faro Automated Solutions with Lis. Elisabet was my idol, even then, and when her crisis of conscience led to her departure from the company she basically dragged into the future with her own hands, following her out the door was the easiest choice I ever made. So when she died I was distraught in the daylight hours. When I was asleep however, I was entirely at the mercy of the machines. They ran rampant. They always killed her in my dreams. In those nightmares, Elisabet Sobeck died screaming. Torn apart at the molecular level as Faro's monsters _ate her_.

So when a loud, piercing, and malevolent shriek of machine cut through the air, I lost it. My breathing became erratic, and I sunk to the cold, cold floor. Tears fell as Samina placed a hand each on my own, to try and stop my shaking. Luckily, it didn't last long.

Or at least I didn't think it lasted too long. It lasted long enough for my world to shift. Samina was standing in front of me, looking at the door.

There was someone else standing there. I looked up, and gasped. There was a girl standing in the door. Hell, she looked like a deer in headlights, eyes all wide. The three of us just stood there for a minute, observing each other.

"Hello," the girl spoke quietly with a small wave. English. She spoke English, thank the heavens for small mercies. "If you control your breathing, your fear will fade," she said, as she peered around Samina at me.

"Thank you," I manage. I took a moment to look at her. She was wearing a hybrid of armour that was around during the Fall and clearly tribal colors. She had a hood pulled over her face, masking her hair. But her eyes shone bright in the dim room. But the thing that really caught my attention was the glint of metal rested on her temple. "You use a Focus."

She reached up to lightly touch it, an almost self-conscious gesture. Hmm. Maybe it was a new development? "Aloy found one for me."

 _Aloy_. The elephant in the room. "Is she here?" Samina asked.

Ikrie looked at Samina oddly for a moment before replying, "She's fending off the machines below. You don't speak like anyone I've ever heard before." Now, I'd heard people snip at Samina about her accent, about her religion, her nationality. But Ikrie looked genuinely curious, but with a distinctly positive light in those eyes.

Samina seemed taken aback as well. The fact that this future girl–Ikrie– would probably never meet another person from another continent. That Samina's homeland was something she'd never see again either. "I was born on another part of the Earth. Thousands and thousands of miles from here," Samina spoke softly.

Ikrie cocked her head, "I may not know the pain of losing my home _land_. But the people who were home to me…are my home no longer. So I found a new home with Aloy."

' _Found a new home with Aloy'_? That was… weirdly intimate phrasing. This chick was either some kind of fanatic dedicated to the clone. _Or_ there was some romantic situation going on. I only just held back a grin, I _knew_ Elisabet wasn't totally straight. Hypothosis confirmed! That was assuming the sexuality and gender identity of clonse was something that mirrored their progenitor.

"What is making you panic?" Ikrie asked. Again, with no judgment in her tone, just curiosity.

"I hear metallic shrieks like that in all my nightmares." I responded honestly. Lying really didn't serve a purpose. Besides, Samina would be furious if I tainted what could be a monumental and potentially historic moment with dishonesty.

Ikrie nodded, "I do too." And I believed her. Her experession changed gfor only a moment, but the vulnerability she displayed for that short amount of time told me very much. This girl was at least ten years younger than me. But there was death in her eyes. Not the fiery light of revenge and violence, but the look of so many of the soldiers I'd seen near the end: sheer loss.

"How are we getting out of this place." Samina asked softly.

Ikrie shook off her morose expression and grinned. "How do you feel about flying? I assume if you could climb your way out of here, you would have done so after you woke."

Samina nodded. "I'm not too keen on flight, but if it will get us down to the ground, then it'll do."

Ikrie looked at me, I shrugged, standing up. Ikrie was short. Now we were at eye-level, she seemed more… _human_. I shudder ran through me as her expression seemed to indicate the same thought passed through her head about me.

"Follow me then." And we followed her to a gargantuan construct. It was one of the machines of AETHYR. It was mine and HEPHAESTUS' simulation come to life. Ikrie marched right up to it and climbed aboard its back.

Samina was understandably hesitant. I was on the other end of the spectrum. I was vibrating with excitement. I was lightly hopping up and down. We did it. Well, of course I knew Zero Dawn worked. GAIA showed us limited images from the new world. Ikrie was also proof, obviously. But for _me_? Seeing the real life incarnation of something I had drawn up with Elisabet was _divine_. There was nothing else like it.


	8. Greetings

CHAPTER 8

One of the Sawtooths lay on the ground, blue light gleaming. It was purring, oddly enough. The other Sawtooth was torn apart by arrows halfway between the forest and us. I ran my hand through my hair. It was still so long. Not even the braids were really holding it back anymore. If I listened to Ikrie, I'd have shorn some of it off by now. To be fair, If I fell in mud one more time and had to spend a large portion of the day de-tangling my hair again…I would probably capitulate a little bit. Not all of it, but maybe I'd try something a little more manageable. Ikrie always talked about how she used to style her hair. I thought it was a shame she wore a hood most of the time, her hair was dark and ethereal. The sight of her hair flowing around her shoulders is a sight I hoped I'd never once take for granted. I remembered that the holograms of Samina always had her wearing a similar hood. I wonder if we could ask her about that, perhaps she and Ikrie had similar reasons for such concealment.

My thoughts were interrupted by the beating of wings and the telltale squawks of the Stormbird. Oh boy, they were here, the Old Ones. Samina: the historian and culture expert who would've taught the new generation of humanity; and Margo: the genius who built the ultimate machine smith Hephaestus. I'd like to talk to her about why Hephaestus has since become an enemy. He murdered Ourea at Yellowstone; not to mention how he _violated_ CYAN for years before that second tragedy.

CYAN would have to live _forever_ with that grief because of that monster. In some ways, he was just as bad as HADES. Well, not in scope, but certainly intent. How many people had died to Thunderjaws alone since the Derangement? The Thunderjaw that was called Redmaw killed so many Carja was only _one_ such design of Hephaestus.

Ersa tapped me on the shoulder. I had been pacing again, like a lunatic…like I belatedly realised Elisabet used to do. Wow. That was a heavy realisation. Maybe she wasn't my mother…but we still shared so much, so many similarities I'm sure would come to light the longer I spent with Samina and Margo. I wasn't sure whether to be elated or horrified. If I took pride in traits I had clearly _inherited_ from Elisabet, Talanah and Vanasha had been watching me with amusement, apparently. But Ersa had been kind enough to break me out of my own head.

"It'll be okay, Aloy," Ersa soothed me. Her voice was a little quieter than normal, clearly the result of intense practice controlling her vocal range since last we communicated. It had really been too long. As much as Ikrie had my heart in her hands, I needed to learn to make time for my other friends.

I returned Ersa's words with a nervous smile and a nod. But the small moment as interrupted by an unfamiliar voice, "Holy fucking shit, that was awesome!" It came from the Stormbird.

Samina Ebadji had an accent to her voice I'd never heard anywhere else, and that wasn't Samina; it must be Margo Shĕn who sounded no different than any Oseram I'd ever heard speak.

"Aloy, just breathe, you have nothing to be nervous about," Talanah said as she clapped me on the shoulder. Typical Talanah: direct and yet kind.

"Okay, let's do this then," I said. There was a small yelp as Margo and Samina each descended the Stormbird. Fair enough, it's not like there's anybody other than myself and Ikrie ride those monstrosities with any regularity, or at all. Ikrie made sure they weren't injured. I'll admit, even after my affirmative statement earlier, I may have still been hiding behind Ersa, just a little bit. She noticed, and let out a small chuckle. And then she shoved me forward with her elbow. Standing so much taller than me, it was enough to propel me forward. I rolled my eyes. I kinda hated her, but I couldn't help but lover her a little bit for it too.

Before I could take more than a few steps forward, I was engulfed in one of the strongest hugs. Margo was hugging me, and she was crying.

I shot a confused look at Ikrie, but she just shrugged. I gently peeled the shorter though older woman off of me, and held her at arm's length. I looked at her damp eyes for a moment; they held so much grief, and hope, and wonder there for all to see.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not Elisabet Sobeck. I'll never _be_ Elisabet Sobeck, do you understand that?" I stated clearly, though I tried my best not to sound harsh. I wanted them to both let this sentiment sink in. Because if they treated me like their dead leader, I wasn't sure we could even be friends.

"Yes," Samina said from behind Margo. Margo nodded her understanding as well. There was a bit of an awkward pause. After a moment or two I realised why: everyone was waiting on me. Because of course they were. It wasn't enough to be 'The Anointed One', or the girl who had to put GAIA back together; now I'll have the burden of trying to live up to Elisabet on a personal level.

"My name is Aloy, and these are my friends: Vanasha, Ersa, Talanah, and my beloved Ikrie, whom you've already met," I said as I gestured to the others.

"Margo Shĕn, it's a pleasure to meet y'all," Margo said as she waved to my friends. She seemed to be a nervous type judging by how she seemed to be vibrating with energy after she hugged me.

"I'm Samina Ebadji," Samina said while I signed a quick askance at Ersa to whether or not her Focus was actively translating. She signed back a quick affirmative. The Focus showing text in front of her eyes while we spoke was truly a genius function.

Samina caught our exchange. Her head whipped back and forth between us before she did something none of us were expecting, she signed at Ersa, 'Hi, I'm Samina'.


	9. Reassurance

Author's Note: Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter.

* * *

CHAPTER 9

Ersa's eyes lit up like I'd never seen before, "You can speak sign?" she exclaimed.

The normally restrained Ersa was elated. She was looking at the slightly older woman with wonderment in her eyes. "I learned when I moved to this country the first time," Samina explained. "My brother's wife was deaf, and he asked me to learn for her sake. It just made sense; after all, I love learning new languages. But that was all before…" Her expression dropped as reality asserted itself in the forefront of her thoughts once more. They were dead. All of them. Even her beautiful little niece and nephew.

Ersa found herself in an odd position; the hooded woman with the sad eyes may just be the most beautiful she'd ever laid her eyes on. Before anybody else said anything, Ersa stepped forward and placed a warm hand on the shorter woman's shoulder. Ersa was a warrior, not necessarily the most affectionate; though the gesture was much appreciated if Samina's deep sigh was anything to judge by.

In my nervousness, my hand drifted into one of the pouches on my person, this one holding Elisabet's globe. The one I recovered from her corpse from the west.

"We should leave here before more machines come," Talanah said decisively, her huntress instincts twitching the longer they stayed in the open like this. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow but she shrugged, "We can have a proper meet and greet later."

I knew she was right, didn't mean I had to like it. "Free Heap is close by. We'll head there," I follow up decisively, belying my remaining anxiety. Ikrie sees through me though, she walked up and kissed my cheek.

The journey to Free Heap was thankfully uneventful. We could see the renovated gates and vastly improved wall surrounding the settlement from the edge of the forest. There wasn't even that much talking, what with Margo and Samina simply taking everything in.

I couldn't imagine what this might be like for them; to lose everyone and everything. If all the cultures of the old world were entirely gone, it might have even been kinder than the situation at hand. In the memories that resided inside the minds of Margo and especially Samina was all that was left. It was there, all of it, in their heads! I was in awe of that kind of burden. Saving the world, being an outcast, it all felt _small_ compared to the burden now on the shoulders of Elisabet's old friends.

My hand drifted back to the globe, and I realised I could do something to help. "How long ago was it, for you two, that Elisabet died?" I ask out of the blue. Vanasha scored me with a reproachful glance for my tactlessness. Talanah's eyes widened like she couldn't believe I'd be so insensitive. Ersa gave me a non-too-subtle jab with her elbow to my shoulder. But I knew where I was going with this. I didn't ask them to be cruel.

Samina started to stutter something, not ready for that kind of question, but Margo spoke up clearly, "Only a couple months. Why?" Her voice went from damn near cold to vulnerable in that short response.

Sighing, I brought my hand up for the two newcomers to see and in it was the miniature-spinning globe. "After she closed the outer doors, Elisabet walked the world alone. Thankfully, she wasn't killed by Faro's machines," I paused while they let that sink in as much as it could before I continued, "She did exactly what she said she would. She went back home, a place called 'Sobeck Ranch. I found her there. She died sitting on a bench from her childhood."

 _I found her there._ I didn't know what else to say really. She was still dead wasn't she? What was I thinking? Vanasha was right to give me that angry look for broaching the death of their leader, good intentions on my part or not. I ran my hand through my multitude of braids.

It turns out I had done the right thing after all. Samina and Margo both had identical expressions of relief of their faces. Samina quickly turned to Margo and said something in a language none of us had ever heard before; it was choppy and quick, though pleasant sounding to me all the same. The others also had looks of varied curiosity and surprise hearing a new language from the Old World.

Samina wrapped an arm around Margo as she repeated the phrase. Margo said something back, though it was only two syllables, it obviously communicated a lot if her tears were anything judge by. Margo turned to me and said in 'English', "Thank you Aloy. You don't know how much you just eased my mind. I…I needed to know that, about Lis. Thank you."

I nodded to her and turned away to the looming settlement. The furnaces were glowing from here, the sound of the hammers were not far off. It was time for these two to meet Petra Forgewoman.


	10. The Legacy of Anita Sandoval

Author's Note: Sorry I've been so long in updating, and that this isn't nearly as long as you'd like.

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CHAPTER 10: The Legacy of Anita Sandoval

"What was this land called before the ah… _Fall_?" Vanasha asked the two Old Ones. The final stretch of the trek to Free Heap had been mostly silent, with Ersa and Samina exchanging words in sign language.

It was Margo who responded, "Uh, well the country was called America," Margo paused, as if trying to figure out how to explain something.

I decided to speak up, "I recognize that expression on your face, Margo, because _I've_ worn it plenty of times when trying to think of how to explain GAIA and the Faro Plague to some of the more religious members of the Nora, or the Banuk in the North It's not easy to so casually change the entire world-outlook people have. But _this_ group can take it." I could feel Ikrie squeeze my hand in prideful agreement; I squeezed back with a grin.

Margo looked at me in shock for a moment before recovering herself, "Well, America was a massive country, one of the bigger ones in terms land mass. Though there were some that were fucking gigantic like Russia or Brazil–,

"Margo, think more local. They don't have 21st century context," Samina chided.

Margo's eyes flared wide for a moment before sheepishly replying, "Sorry. I'm kinda bad at explaining things."

"How big was 'America'?" Talanah asked.

Margo and Samina thought for how to explain that in terms that catered to our context before I replied, "You could walk for at least a couple of weeks in that direction, and you'd still be in 'America'," I say pointing east. At the curious glances that I received from Samina and Margo, I responded, "One of my friends is the AI that was GAIA's emotional template, and she monitors the Yellowstone caldera. We talk about random things. Geography is one of my favourite subjects." I shrug.

"Wait, what!?" Margo asked. Oops, did I forget to mention that before?

"How much did you two know about project Firebreak?" I ask a little sheepishly.

"I don't know what that is," Samina replied.

"It _sounds_ familiar…oh! There was this one lady…uh, Annie, nope, Anya, nah that wasn't it…Anastasia–Anita. It was Anita Sandoval, I think, who had worked on that. I remember the name Firebreak because Faro and Lis had this big argument over her inclusion in Zero Dawn. She worked directly under Elisabet, developing GAIA's emotional code and responses." Well, that was interesting. Samina was looking at Margo in confusion. "You know, the lady who had that obsession with Tennyson's poetry? She insisted you include all his works in Apollo."

Samina's eyes lit up in recognition. But then they dimmed with barely withheld tears. The loss of Apollo was never going to be easy for Samina, I realised. It was like part of her soul died with it.

I didn't know what or who Tennyson was, but poetry? I had come across that before in the metal flowers. But also…maybe this Tennyson was responsible same poem that CYAN recited for me.

"CYAN implied she had access to a selection of poetry," I said to Samina. "She recited a part of one of her favourites for me actually.

Her eyes widened considerably. "What?" she breathed. Okay, so obviously I was going to have to get ahold of those poems somehow. A trip to Ban-Ur and CYAN would take near a month round-trip, with two unskilled in combat. Actually, Banuk territory was probably too dangerous for them to be in. HEPHAESTUS' dangerously designed machines were still too numerous and powerful there. Fire and spit, without a large party like this to protect them, they would be a liability when travelling.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up," I tried to caution the historian, "CYAN' repository of knowledge is probably less than a pale shadow of what you put into APOLLO."

"But even if it's just a few poems, that's still a victory," Margo spoke up for Samina, who was overcome with emotion. Interestingly, it was Ersa who put a comforting hand on the Old One's shoulder. Hmm. "It's better than what we feared."

Once we were within a stone's throw of the gates, we knew our presence was noted.

"Flame-Hair!" a boisterous greeting sounded from the upper level of the settlement. Petra, oh All-Mother, this was going to be an interesting meeting.


	11. The Goddess of the Forge

CHAPTER 11: The Goddess of the Forge

I remember when I was little, my older brother would tell me about the old gods who ruled the Aegean and its islands; at least before the Romans perverted everything with their conquests. The elder Olympians always made more sense to me as deities when the alternative was some all-knowing asshole that had total omnipotence. Capricious backstabbers who raped, tricked, and ruined the lives of mortals by other means felt more…human to me. It wasn't a good feeling, but they were clearly reflected in the heroics and evils of life all around me. Well, maybe I just preferred the gods of the Pantheon, they were more relatable and all; I never knew shit about actual faith either way.

Elisabet told me I'd be creating and programing the part of Gaia that would literally _build_ all of the other servitors, I _had_ to name him Hephaestus. It felt like destiny.

So 1000 years later, when Aloy led us to what she described as an independent village led by a genius smith named Petra…I was a little excited.

"Flame-Hair!" a loud cry rang out as we approached the gate. Aloy raised a hand in acknowledgement. An attractive woman built like a tank approached us, as we got closer. She was tall, but not giant. Not as tall as Talanah, but that girl was all legs anyway. The woman's face was smeared in machine oil and as I took her in, I noticed that she scars mapping her arms, most of which looked like the kinds of burns my brother got working in the shop before I bought him state of the art gloves with my Faro Automated Solutions salary. She didn't even spare a glance for us; she was looking at Aloy with the same look my mother gave me when I had misbehaved.

"Petra, hi! It's been a little while," Aloy said almost ashamedly.

"It's been weeks girl, with no word!" Petra responded as she levelled Aloy with a chastising look.

"I was busy," Aloy responded weakly. I looked to the others' reactions at Aloy being scolded like this. Ikrie was trying not to laugh, Talanah was rolling her eyes and Vanasha was actually laughing.

"Well, come in then. I've been working on another prototype for you to try. But I'll need you to gather a couple things for it to be in working order." Petra lights up as she discusses her work.

If there was such a thing as a literal Hephaestus; it was this Petra. She had all the trappings of the old god from my brother's stories, and my later research. She was a woman though, so she was even better than the Hephaestus from the myths.

"I will do that. But could we speak in private first, I have a couple of people to introduce to you." Aloy said as she regained some dignity from ghosting what seemed like her weapon supplier.

"New faces! I've briefly met you Carja lot," Petra said indicating Talanah and Vanasha who nodded in turn. "Ersa the Storm Chaser, it's good to see you back on your feet." She said as she beamed at Ersa, who looked shy at the attention. "Don't look so bashful, kid."

"You knew her growing up?" Ikrie spoke up as she looked between the two women.

"Fire and spit, Ikrie, this one used to cause half of the trouble in the Claim before the time she was ten! She once managed to tie down a rogue Storm Bird by herself. Would've been filled with lightning if our hunting parties hadn't intervened though. Then she led a coup against the Mad King Jiran! Always chasing storms of trouble this one is. You were one handful back then, and haven't slowed down that much EVEN NOW, if travelling with Flame-Hair here is any indication," Petra didn't hesitate to dish on Ersa's childhood.

I was still caught on the fact this woman as a child had thwarted that giant-ass bird we road.

"I wasn't that bad, and it was the weapons you made that forced the Kestrels back into the streets of Meridian," Ersa mumbled a little loudly. But the blush on her face was basic confirmation of Petra's words.

After waving away Ersa's half-hearted denial of credit, Petra gently petted Ersa's shoulder and gave her a motherly smile. "I'm glad you're back on your feet, you'll always be _my_ Captain, kid." She pressed a quick kiss to Ersa's forehead and just as quickly turned on her heel, leading us back to her hut. Ersa just stood there for a moment with a soft smile on her face, and followed her tribeswoman, brushing tears of gratitude out of her eyes as she went.

Samina hadn't stopped looking around us, doubtlessly comparing the architecture and crafts to societies of our ancient past. "So, what do you think of this place?" I asked her discreetly.

Samina looked at me with a gleam in her eyes that had been entirely too long since I'd seen, "We really did it Margo. It wasn't in vain," even if she was smiling wider than I'd seen her do in years, she was still crying. I gave her a hug and wrapped an arm around her as we followed Ersa and Petra's quick pace a little more sedately.

Ikrie ribbed Aloy with her elbow, "I told her you should've prepared two focuses for her, she probably took the one we gave her apart figuring out how it works."

Aloy just shrugged as she led us up the stairs. "If she can apply the solar panel tech to other things, that'll be a game changer. It's worth losing a Focus for. While they're certainly nice to have, they aren't essential anymore that GAIA is getting back on her feet."

As we got to the top of the spiral stairs leading to the zenith of the settlement, I couldn't help but suck in a breath as I laid eyes on the sprawling workshop area there. There were parts of all sorts of machines, and some mechanisms that looked like heavy artillery combined with some kind of magnetic propulsion mechanism? Samina had to drag me like a child who'd laid her eyes on a mountain of candy the rest of the way to the hut, to the amusement of Ersa who didn't hide her chuckle.

Once we were all settled in a rough circle in Petra's hut, she turned her attention to us, the obvious outlanders. Petra looked first to Aloy, who sighed a long breath, "I'd really appreciate if you'd keep what you're about to learn to just the people in this room."

"Sure thing, Aloy," Petra agreed easily.

Aloy decided to rip the Band-Aid off, "These two women are old ones we found at the GAIA Prime facility, the mountain that exploded on the day of my…creation." Aloy finished awkwardly.

Petra's eyes widened as she looked upon us with new light in her eyes. "Old ones? These two are younger than I am!"

"Cryogenic stasis," I said. Petra's blank look spurred me to explain, "GAIA used prototype technology to basically freeze us and stopped the passage of time from killing us." Petra tilted her head in calculation, probably wondering if she could do better; she had the mind of a smith indeed.

"We'll come back to that," Petra said with a look at Aloy who just face-palmed. It was funny, their dynamic. It was almost familial, but there was also a hint of something _less_ than familial if Aloy's slight blushing was anything to go by. Ikrie didn't seem to bother by it. I was getting distracted.

"I'm Samina Ebadji," Samina said with a small smile.

"I'm Margo Shĕn, it's a real pleasure to meet you," I said with much more excitement holding out my hand in greeting. It only occurred to me once I had done it that handshakes were probably not the norm here, in these cultures.

A look of confusion flashed across Petra's face before she reached out and grasped my forearm rather than my hand. "Well met, Margo, Samina. I suppose I should properly introduce myself. I'm Petra Forgewoman, and this is Free Heap."

Aloy looked at me like she wanted me to say something, but I wasn't sure what her raised eyebrow meant. When Elisabet wore that expression it was because I was omitting a crucial detail or sentiment during one of our talks. It was weird to see that expression in a clone just out of her teenage years.

"They aren't just any old ones," Aloy said.

"Zero Dawn people?" Petra asked with a look of awe. Clearly Aloy had told Petra at least _some_ things about the nature of the world we had built.

"Yes," Samina said quietly, sadly. Ersa noticed and put a large comforting hand on Samina's slight shoulder. "I'm the Alpha of Apollo. Though that no longer carries meaning since Apollo was _cancelled_ by Faro." While Samina's voice verged into malice, Petra frowned.

"How much of it is in your head?" Petra asked. At Samina's baffled look, Petra elaborated, "Aloy told me the basics of the Zero Dawn, Apollo was the Education part right? Like, the history of humanity?" Petra asked.

"Yes. It _was_." Samina replied.

"How much of it do you have in your head? You can turn your histories into stories, songs, and myths. Not all of it has to die." Petra shrugged as she rose to her feet and passed out several cups of what smelled like beer.

"Oral history," I said to my friend.

"That's not a terrible idea," Vanasha spoke up. "Avad and Marad would certainly love to know more about the Old Ones."

Samina nodded to herself as she contemplated this new possibility. Ikrie spoke up, "The people of Ban-Ur are big on legacy and songs. I'm not sure how much they'd care about the Old Ones, but CYAN could probably record you telling stories to her if you'd let her."

"Thank you, this is something to certainly think on," Samina said softly as a small smile crept onto her face. I was glad, it seemed like the end of Apollo might not necessarily be _the end_ of History.

"And what did you do?" Petra asked me. I was momentarily taken aback by her addressing me so bluntly, but I grinned.

"I designed Hephaestus. The part of GAIA that builds _all_ of the machines," I say with smirk. I was damn right to be cocky if Petra's awed expression was anything to go by.


End file.
